Property Articles

After a challenging period, the outlook for Australia's interest rate-battered property funds is improving. Stabilising borrowing costs and the prospect of a rate cut next year are paving the way for a market recovery. With attractive valuations and strong income growth, listed property funds invest in portfolios of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (or A-REITs) are poised for solid gains, especially as early signs of recovery are emerging across the retail, industrial and office sectors.

With interest rates remaining elevated, commercial real estate debt (CRED) funds have emerged as an increasingly attractive option for investors. Offering stable, income-generating opportunities and attractive, risk-adjusted returns, these funds are gaining ground as one of the fastest-growing segments of the private debt market. Despite challenges in the broader real estate sector, including declining office valuations, structural tailwinds like housing undersupply in key markets, population growth, and the rise of e-commerce and data centres are driving long-term demand for CRED.

With interest rates at a decade-high and the RBA signalling potential rate cuts sometime next year, the current yields on mortgage funds present an attractive opportunity. Mortgage funds have gained traction as higher interest rates have made lending to the commercial real estate sector increasingly attractive. This shift has occurred while traditional property investments such as real estate investment trusts are facing significant valuation challenges. According to a recent report by investment firm Zagga, more investors are gravitating toward private real estate debt for property exposure in order to avoid the volatility typically associated with property markets. This trend is fuelled b

The promise of interest rate cuts by the Fed and the RBA has been the main reason to be bullish about unlisted property funds for some time now. It’s been a long wait, but it looks like we’re nearing the expected interest rate easing cycle, at least in the US. So is now the ideal time to consider revisiting the unlisted property fund sector? We investigate.

Investing in high yield property funds can be an attractive proposition, with promises of high returns frequently exceeding 14% per annum. Prior to make an investment, investors should ensure: they are aware of all the risks and they are being adequately compensated for the risks involved.

If you’re the owner of one investment property, you’re the esteemed member of a 2.2 million club of wealth builders. Whilst owning one investment property is a great achievement, you may not be as well positioned as you think you are to generate the type of wealth most investors are aiming for in retirement care of their property portfolios.

Despite the ongoing economic slowdown and persistently high office vacancy rates, there are promising signs that the commercial property market is gearing up for a rebound. The rapid expansion of the data centre sector, fuelled by the exponential growth of generative AI and cloud computing, is driving a noticeable surge in commercial real estate activity, both locally and globally. Major players in the industry, such as Equinix, Digital Realty, Blackstone, and Goodman Group, are ramping up their investments in this fast-growing sector, reflecting their widespread confidence in its potential.

Demographics are often at the heart of long term structural trends which affect a country’s economic and investment prospects. As such, being aware Australia’s demographic trends is an important part of the puzzle for all long term investors. We unpack the key demographic trends at play for investors below.

The fastest rate rising cycle in history was always going to test the commercial property fund sector. With typical loan to value ratios of 40-70%, it’s an asset class which is at the mercy of the RBA’s cash rate decisions. As such, investors tend to be bullish on commercial property funds when rates are falling, but rising rates generally spell bearish sentiment.

The baby boomers have long been recognised as the wealthiest generation ever. But as per the famous expression, you can’t take it with you. With baby boomers’ ages ranging from fifty-nine to seventy-seven, there’s no escaping the fact we’re close to witnessing a passing of their wealth to the next generation. Given the extent of this impending wealth transfer, the investment implications of this thematic are worth being aware of.

Commercial property has been a staple source of solid income returns and capital growth for decades, particularly in the unlisted world. However, a number of the strongest commercial property tailwinds have recently turned into headwinds, impacting upon the outlook for the various commercial property asset classes. Should investors reduce their commercial property exposure, or are these headwinds a short term opportunity in the making?

Australian investors are well versed in the long list of ways to invest in commercial property. This explains why the commercial property investment sector is so large. The value of unlisted property trusts is estimated at $227 billion, while the listed property trust sector is valued at $144 billion (Property Council of Australia). Despite the commercial property sector’s fund raising success, few investors are aware of the emerging options to invest in funds in the residential real estate sector.